Coming out of Norcross (Ga.) High School in 2008, Brice Butler had offers from an illustrious list of schools promising to help the rangy, athletic wide receiver earn his shot at NFL stardom.

San Diego State was in that mix for a hot second, but Butler redshirted his freshman year at USC expecting to become the go-to guy in the Trojans’ offense.

“I had a big head coming out of high school,” Butler said. “I went into USC thinking everything will be handed to me if I show I’m better than these guys for a couple of days.”

Things didn’t quite work out that way, though.

Butler and SDSU quarterback Ryan Katz, a transfer from Oregon State, are just two of the 33 Mountain West players who transferred into the league from other four-year football programs. And when you scan the Mountain West’s rosters, what stands out is the number of quarterback imports.

“When they sit there and realize they’re not going to play at whatever school they’re at, they look for a place where they have a chance to start,” SDSU coach Rocky Long said.

Reversal of fortune

Colorado State’s M.J. McPeek, who started at quarterback for the Rams in their 38-14 defeat to SDSU, came to the Rams by way of Kansas State. Hawaii starter Sean Schroeder is a Duke transplant, but he might not even be the best transfer quarterback on the Warriors’ roster. Taylor Graham, a 6-foot-5, 235-pound former four-star recruit is running with the scout team.

The son of former New York Giants quarterback Kent Graham, Taylor was highly recruited coming out of high school in 2010. He signed with Ohio State because Jim Tressel’s pro-style scheme fit his strengths.

But in November of 2011, Tressel resigned under pressure in the wake of an NCAA investigation, and Urban Meyer was hired as his replacement.

Taylor’s search for a new home brought him to the doorstep of Hawaii. The Warriors had just hired Norm Chow, who recruited Taylor out of high school as the former UCLA offensive coordinator.

“I was looking for a pro-style offense, and was prepared to go wherever it was, whether that was North Dakota, Florida or California,” Graham said. “Having coach Chow here was the No. 1 reason I decided to come.”

Looking for a do-over

In terms of television revenue, the Mountain West has long been a victim of its own remote location. With most of its teams in sparsely-populated states like Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico, the league doesn’t have an entry point into the bigger metro markets that dot the West Coast’s I-5 corridor.

But for transfers seeking a fresh start outside the spotlight, that relative geographical obscurity is actually part of the league’s appeal.

“After Tennessee, I wanted to go somewhere where I could humble myself and not be in the spotlight,” said Hawaii cornerback Mike Edwards. “I came here, and it was real low-key, and the people accepted me.”

Edwards transferred to Hawaii in 2011 after one season with the Vols. He was kicked off the team for his participation in an attempted robbery.